1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a split four-cycle engine system in which the intake and compression strokes and the power and exhaust strokes take place in separate cylinders. Means are provided for transferring compressed gases from one cylinder to another where they are burned. Means are also provided for causing the compression ratio to vary inversely with the pressure of the gases in the intake manifold so as to keep the pre-ignition pressure of the gases nearly constant.
2. Prior Art
Internal combustion engines which are now in use are not efficient at light loads and they produce large quantities of carbon monoxide and other pollutants at light loads. These engines must burn a closely controlled mixture of about 14 pounds of air to a pound of gasoline. It is not possible to reduce the amount of fuel being burned in an engine of this type without making a corresponding reduction in the amount of air being drawn into the engine. When these engines are operating at light loads, air and fuel mixtures are drawn into them under partial vacuums. Even after gases at these low pressures are compressed in an engine, the pre-ignition pressures are low. Engines will not operate efficiently at these low pressures because there is not enough air in their cylinders to expand and do work. Fuels will not burn completely at these low pressures because there is not enough oxygen in their cylinders to completely support combustion. An engine which will burn air and fuel mixtures at full compression at all loads should be more efficient and produce less pollution than a conventional engine.
In 1958, U.S. Pat. No. 2,858,816 was issued on a Diesal engine in which the compression ratio could be changed by changing the phase relation between two cranks. This engine was arranged with two pistons operating in the same cylinder. This arrangement would not produce enough turbulance to produce efficient combustion in any kind of an engine except a Diesal engine.
All modern internal combustion engines are arranged with special cylinder heads which create turbulance in the burning gases. The gases are squeezed between the pistons and surfaces on the cylinder heads in a manner which forces them out into combustion chambers at high speeds and causes them to create turbulance. Although these methods are in general use, they are not very satisfactory because they function at the end of the stroke when the pistons are moving at very low speeds. They barely work at all when the engines are idling or operating at very low speeds.
This invention solves these problems which the prior art has failed to solve. By first compressing gases in one cylinder and then transferring them to a second cylinder it is possible to produce a high degree of turbulance. By using a variable compression arrangement and coupling it to a carburetor in a manner which will cause gases to be burned at full compression at all loads, it should be possible to overcome the principle drawbacks to the conventional internal combustion engine.